The present invention pertains to rear projection systems, and more specifically, to a rear projection console with multiple projectors that uses a baffle arrangement to allow a user to create a visually seamless, sharp image without the use of expensive optics.
The method of using multiple projectors to produce a nearly contiguous image is old in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,073 (Inova) creates a contiguous image in a forward projecting system using multiple projectors and a signal ramping process to blend the images together. Similarly, movie theaters in previous eras have used multiple techniques, including several projectors projecting at multiple screens to create larger images for viewing audiences with varying degrees of success. The fundamental problems that have arisen in using multiple projectors to create a single image are the difficulty in aligning the projected images in timing, that is, to have the output of one projector matching the output of another frame by frame, and further, the difficulty in aligning the edges of the multiple images with one another in a contiguous fashion, especially with larger viewing surfaces.
There have been similar attempts to create a contiguous image on a display screen with rear projection devices such as the one illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,145 (Wilson), which shows a multi-panel viewing section. There are gaps in between these panels however. Again, problems arise in trying to arrange contiguity between the panels in either projection frame timing or projection alignment.
The present invention, in its typical embodiment, has an oblong screen that can accept two or more projections placed thereupon, while at the same time having no framing system to disrupt the contiguity of multiple projections. Because of the differences in imagers, it is challenging to match video images with no gap and no overlap between the images. In the prior art, when two images arc projected side by side onto a single screen, there will normally be a seam between the two images which the viewer sees as a gap or overlap. While the Inova patent address the problem for front projection screens, the problems in the scope of rear projection screens and especially console screensxe2x80x94a scope in which the screens are made of different materials to project the image through the screen remains a problem. While the device shown in the Inova Patent requires the use of expensive ramp generators and synchronization devices to blend images together. In contrast, the present invention creates a visually seamless, contiguous image on a rear projection screen without the use of expensive digitalization equipment
U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,073 illustrates a seamless video display that uses three forward projecting ramp projectors and a synchronizer to produce a contiguous image.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,145 illustrates a multiple panel rear projection screen system which utilizes especially narrow perimeter edges on each panel to minimize image loss between panels.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus to create a visually seamless image for a rear projection system. The invention provides a method for merging at least two images into a seamless, contiguous image on a display screen utilizing a baffle arrangement. The baffle which is spaced from the screen sufficiently far so as to interfere and block at least one projected images before the image reaches the display screen to eliminate image overlap on the screen.